Save Me (Miraculous Ladybug)
by SchnauzerPie
Summary: When an akumatised Marinette has the miraculous throw her seperate personalities into disarray (it's not as dumb as it seems dw) she needs to be saved by her knight in shining black leather. Wow, this makes it sound like a comedy but it's not. Just, read it and see cuz it's hard to describe... ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there, this is another akumatised Mari fic. Why should you read this? Read to find out!**

Today was going to be the day. That's right, you heard me. Marinette Dupain Cheng would finally, after all this time, confess her love to Adrien Agreste, the beautiful model she had been pining for for over a year now. She had asked him to meet her (through Alya of course) at the park after school, where she would pour out her heart and finally be with the love of her life. Or that was the plan, at least…

The very second the school bells tolled their long awaited ringing excitement, baby pink pumps darted like, well, darts through the classroom door, the school entrance, the pavement, road, pavement. Grass, soft and luscious under the quaking girl's feet. She was shivering in the gentle breeze like a delicate leaf in it's ripest green. He was coming.

His hair was a mist shrouding his model-grade face. Marinette took a deep breath. Here we go.

"Oh hey Marinette, Alya said you wanted to ask me something? As long as it's quick though, I have a shoot to get to pretty soon-"

"No, you don't! It got cancelled, remember?" She interrupted.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Wait, how did you know that? I never said anything about that shoot to anyone, let alone tell them it was cancelled. What are you, some kind of stalker?" He joked.

But she didn't find it very funny.

"I'm really sorry Adrien… I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable, it's just I… I errrr… I just wanted to tell you that… We've been friends for a while now, right? W-Well, it's kind of been ever since you gave me your umstellar. Er, wait! I mean inbrulla! No! I… YOU LIKE ME! I MEAN, I LIKE SOMEONE, NO, I… YOU… I'VELOVEDYOUTHISWHOLETIME! I, I liked you for the longest time and… PLEASE GO OUT WITH M-"

"I'm sorry, Marinette… I love someone else…"

…

"Oh… Ok. Can you tell me who?"

"Don't laugh, but I'm in love with Ladybug…"

He scratched the back of his head nervously.

Normally, the bluenette would that adorable, attractive, absolutely glowing. But not now. Not now that Ladybug had stolen something precious from her. And her nice girl act shattered like a glass baseball. Whoever she was before, the old Mari had just been gutted alive. Dead.

"Don't give me that…" She murmured, barely loud enough to hear. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! WHEN HAVE YOU EVER SPOKEN TO LADYBUG, HUH? You don't even know who she is! You think she's so special, but she's actually really pathetic, behind the mask, she's just a miserable failure who can't do ANYTHING RIGHT! What do you know about her?! This whole time, I've been working hard to keep up appearances, to be cute, shy, and an adorable, perfect girlfriend! And what do I get?! Oooooh, I love Ladybug! WHAT ARE YOU, FIVE?! LADYBUG DOESN'T EXIST! SHE'S JUST A NORMAL GIRL WEARING A SUIT WITH MAGICAL BUFFS THAT MAKE HER SPECIAL! I thought much higher of you. Don't be so naive. It doesn't work like that…"

Before Adrien could leap in to defend his lady, Mari had turned on her heel, fuming.

'He didn't even try to defend his beloved Ladybug from my badmouthing… Pathetic.' She thought, a dark glint forming in her eyes. She reached up to her ears, and gently slid her Miraculous into her pocket. After all, those wearing a Miraculous are immune to akumas, and where's the fun in that?


	2. Chapter 2

Mari's tear stained cheeks were flushed with rage. That stupid mask. It stole her love away from her, she had created a person who was not her, an idol that had bewitched her beloved. She would not forgive this.

'It's all Tikki's fault, that filthy cockroach!' She thought, furiously.

The sudden forced removal of her Miraculous against the will of the kwami as well as the post-shock hysteria Marinette was experiencing was warping her, little by little. It was only a matter of time before she became the perfect akuma.

And there it was. She saw it in the corner of her eye as she looked up from her knees where she had curled herself under a bridge. The little butterfly with the black aura. How cute. How perfect.

"Wow, took your time, didn't you Hawkmoth! Geez, I don't have all day!"

Her voice was not that of a sane person, she was, again, hysterical, and madly giggling. Of course, this didn't stop the tears. The tears belonging to a previous Marinette, the part of her seen by others. She had loved him, more than anything, it had become a yandere style obsession! How dare that Ladybug brainwash him, her beautiful, perfect Adrien!?

The black butterfly drew ever closer.

—

Marinette's POV

Where am I? I am surrounded by nothingness. I am floating, and it's a strange feeling of weightlessness. I can't remember, why am I here?

"You are here because you ran away, Marinette."

I jolt around to see who's speaking, until I realise, it's my own voice.

I stare in to the the oceanic blue eyes of Ladybug.

"Ladybug! What do you mean, why did I run away?" I ask desperately.

"Adrien rejected you, saying that he loved me instead. And you shattered. There has always been many sides to you Mari, there are many sides in everyone. I am afraid the use of a Miraculous throws the dominant order of these personalities into disarray so that it can make use of elements from each to create what is known as a 'superhero'. Unfortunately, this disarray has allowed extreme shock and devastation to shatter the bonds holding your personalities in place. The Marinette controlling your body now is the one that bubbled to the surface fastest after the break. And where you are now? All the versions of you are here, somewhere. They've been here this whole time, you were just lucky enough to be the dominant one."

What…? That makes no sense…

"How do you know this?" I curiously questioned.

"I am the superhero you. When Tikki transforms you, you get more than physical buffs and a cool outfit. She arranged the strongest and most useful parts of your versions and compiles them into one. You don't notice when I merge with the dominant personality, but it still happe-"

The nothingness that surrounded them began to tremble. Dark, fog like fingers swirled around the two Maris.

"Oh no…" Ladybug whispered. "That was quicker than I anticipated."

"What's happening!? Why is the inside of my head going black?! Ladybug! Help! Aren't you going to do something?!"

…

"Its too late for that now… We've been akumatised…"


	3. Chapter 3

*We're no longer in Marinette's head now, we are in the real, physical world*

"'Demon Lover', this is Hawkmoth. I have given you all the power you need to eliminate your rivals, and all you have to do is get me Ladybug and Chat Noir's miracu-"

"No thanks. I mean, Demon Lover? What even is that name tho! Seriously WHERE do you get these dumb names, have you got like a book or something?! Haha, I've gotten what I need from you, so you can get out of my head now."

"How dare you! I can take your power away from you as easily as I gave them!"

Can you though? There are times when akumas have gone rogue before, but you never stopped them, Gigantitan for example… Aw, sucks to be pathetic, doesn't it?" She giggled in a mocking tone. "But, I'll take the powers, thank you very much! Ooh, maybe once I'm finished here, I'll come for you!"

Her hysterical laughter echoed through the streets of Paris, and she loved every second of it, all that was left was to corrupt the earrings. She slid them back onto her ears and watched them turn black in her reflection in the silent river. Wow! What a time to get control of the body! The girl that actually got picked was lame, she could have done way better if she was the dominant.

Mari felt the power of tikki begin to flow through her as the little Kwami began to appear before her. Before letting it utter a word, Mari reached out her hand and whispered, "spots on."

—

*back in Mari's head*

Marinette's Pov

Run. Keep running.

Ladybug is faster than me. The grasping black wisps of akuma smoke are grabbing at our heels. While I cannot physically tire in this form, I cannot keep this up indefinitely.

"Hey, Ladybug! So, do we just keep doing this for eternity or…? Cuz this is gonna get old real soon."

"Don't worry, Marinette. I expect her to put the earrings on her body again soon, which will give me the power to fight the akuma from the inside."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Oh, she will. She can gain limitless power from miraculous stones, and that is right up her alley. It won't be long before she has Chat Noir's ring in her possession too…" Ladybug added regretfully.

"No she won't! Chat Noir wont fall even if he doesn't have me. He's a strong warrior too ya know!"

"I'm sorry Marinette. He won't be strong enough to beat you, not with the power of Ladybug as well as an akuma. He's gonna have to take a loss on this one… Oh! The earnings are on! Miraculous Ladybug!"

Her healing light spread from her outstretched hands and blasted back the darkness chasing them. But it didn't disappear. The two forces simply pushed against each other.

"Huh? Why doesn't it work, Ladybug? It's not doing anything!"

"I realise. It's because my full power is not accessible to me yet. The earnings must be cleansed fully of the akuma before I can cast it from Marinette's body."

"And how can we do that?"

"We're gonna need a little more than Chat Noir to get them back. Master Fu, you know what to do."

—

*real world*

"Come out come out wherever you areeeeeee! Adrieeennnnnnn, where aaaaaareeee you my love?! Are you sneaking around with Ladybug again?! Oh wait… YOU'VE NEVER EVEN SPOKEN TO HER, HAVE YOU?"

Marinette's soft navy hair had grown to reach her mid thigh, it was tied up in a high ponytail between two slim, menacing horns not dissimilar to that of a demon. Her ball gown was scarlet with black accents, and she had knee high black boots with heels. It was the sinister picture of elegance, but Chat Noir knew better.

"Hello Puuuurincess. That's a nice outfit you've got there, I'm impressed."

While impressed was the understatement of the year and he was only late because it took him five minutes to get over how gorgeous and elegant she had become, Chat was now ready to do business. He was worried that Marinette would become akumatised after what happened earlier, and it would appear that his suspicions were correct. If only his Lady would just arrive, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her…

"Oh, Chaton, I've been wanting to see you too! Hey, you think there's a slight chance you could give me that ring of yours?"

"Hah, I'd love to purincess, but I'm afraid that wouldn't be doing my job now would it? I can't let Hawkmoth have my miraculous until the day I die, and judging by his voice I'd say that he'll go first."

"Hawkmoth? Who said anything about Hawkmoth? I want your ring because I want your ring. Don't lump me in with those other puppets of his. I'm working on my own terms, actually."

Now that shocked him. No other akuma had ever said a word against Hawkmoth. This one was special.

"Wait, you didn't get brainwashed?"

"Heck no! What do you take me for, Chaton. I'm hurt!" Her tone was mocking. But she was also confused as to why his concern made her feel so happy. Stupid Chat Noir!

"So, I'm guessing you didn't stick with your dumb given villain name?" Asked Chat, stalling for time until Ladybug came to his side. The fact that Mari's akuma form was stronger than Hawkmoth led him to believe that he would need Ladybug on this one. He thought that Mariwas an awesome friend, without a drop of cruel blood in her system. I guess he was wrong about her, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care. After all, she is his princess.

"Nah, it's so embarrassing to be linked to that name I'm not even gonna tell you what it is. So, where's your friend?"

She was right, where was his friend?

'Adrien.' Plagg's cynical voice bounced about his head. 'I don't want to believe it, but I sense Tikki coming from her. Is she wearing earrings?'

Adrien looked closer. She was indeed wearing earrings; black ones at that.

"You don't think… You don't think Marinette already got to Ladybug and took her miraculous?!"

A horrible sense of dread dawned on the poor boy. His Lady? Defeated? There was no way, no way that he could achieve something his Lady couldn't… He should have been there! He should have saved her!

"Damn you Marinette! What did you do to Ladybug?! Where is she? Who is she!?"

Marinette just stared at him in utter disbelief. How could he be so dense? All the signs were there! She was literally wearing Ladybug's earrings! Well, this was going to be more fun than she thought. What an idiot…

"Oh, you want to know what I did to Ladybug? I crushed her and stole her earrings. Why? You think they look good on me? I'm flattered!"

Adrien was too enraged to notice that they did indeed look good on her. Too good, too familiar…

"I swear, if you as much as touched her…"

"Oh wait, I wasn't supposed to touch her? I mean, I did worse than that but okay, I guess it's too late now… Well, if you want to know where she is, she passed out from the pain a while back, and I have her locked away. Want me to take you there?"

"You monster… How dare you! You hurt her, Marinette, you are despicable!"

Words could not describe the sheer horror pumping through his veins and arteries. Ladybug had gotten hurt, his love had been hurt!

"Take me. I beg you, let ,e have her back, there's no reason for you to hurt her while she's in civilian form. I know what you're going to ask me for… If you let her go, I'll give it you."

"Perfect. Follow me…"

She led him down, deep into the sewers, singing a sinister song as went. Little did she know she was being followed, by someone other than Chat Noir…


	4. Chapter 4

The two approached a large, vault like door within the sewers. Marinette stopped.

"This is it. If I let you in to the same room as Ladybug, and leave the door open, I get your ring. Deal?"

"Deal. Just please, let her go!"

"Fine, fine…"

The large door scraped open, creaking and groaning as its colossal metal hinges swung, dead weights.

Marinette entered. So did Chat.

"You tricked me! There's nobody here, you filthy liar!"

Marinette just giggled.

"Well, I am using the Ladybug miraculous, which makes me, technically, Ladybug. And the door is still, technically, open. So now, I get your ring."

As a malicious smile formed across her face, silver chains sprung from the corners of the room in perfect straight lines, like flashing, metallic water jets. At the command of Marinette's hand they wrapped themselves around Chat Noir, encasing him in metal and hatred. He could not move an inch.

"Wow. You got me there… Marinette… I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier, I truly am… You're way smarter and trickier than I ever anticipated, but it's not Ladybugs fault! You are in no position to hurt her! I want you to take me to her in her civilian form, and I'll come quietly. And I won't leave you any loopholes." Chat finished, gravely.

"Don't worry Chat. I never tricked you in the first place. You're pretty dense though, aren't you? Maybe you underestimated me? Let me let you in on a little secret…"

Marinette reached out and touched his ring. She began to pull it off.

"You're already with her-"

"CHAT NOIR! LOOK OUT!"

A bright flash of yellow tore through the chains binding Chat Noir in what the form of what appeared to be a spear. A strange orange mist that smelt like peaches and, well, oranges, flooded the room, clouding Marinette's vision. By the time it cleared, her chains lay limp on the floor and the door to the room was closed. She was the only one there

"Damn. You sneaky little…"

She sighed.

"Master Fu. I see you want to play with me too, huh? Bet it felt good to crack out your old toys…"

She chuckled disturbingly.

"Oh well. The more bets you place on the table, the more I take when I win…"

—-—

*back in Mari's head*

The dark mist was as strong and pungent as ever, and Ladybug was growing weary. She had been defending herself and Marinette for a long time now, and slowly but surely, it was taking its toll on her magic.

"Mari. The version trying to take control of your body now is using the mist to reform all of us to how we were before the split. But this time, with her on top. You need to fight her! You need to reinstate yourself as the dominant. You'll still be akumatised, but you'll be in control. I can't keep this up forever. It'll dissolve me soon."

"But how?! How do I fight her?!"

"Have to find her form in this dimension. And destroy it. That's what she's been trying to do to you ever since you became a miraculous user and each variation gained a conscious form. But when you're not being Ladybug, I am the one that stands and defends you, as the dominant. It's my fault your possession of your body was ever at risk, so it's up to me to protect you. I can use all of my remaining power to form a path free of mist that will lead you to her. And take my yoyo. Bear in mind once I've done this, there will be a time limit until you all compress back into one personality. At this rate, she will be on top. Make sure it's you, okay?"

"Wait, why will we compress back? Don't tell me… If you use all your power and then we go back to how we were before I became a miraculous user… Are you saying I won't be able to be Ladybug anymore!?"

Silent, heartbroken tears roll down her cheeks. How could she lose the only thing that made her special, made her worth something, made her worth Adrien's time, anyone's time?! It wasn't… That just wasn't fair!

"I'm afraid to say that it does, Mari. But it's better than fading into non-existence, right?"

…

"I'm not sure it is. After all, you've been Ladybug this whole time, there's nothing good about me, I MIGHT AS WELL NOT EVEN BE HERE!"

She was fully sobbing now.

"I thought you were stronger than that Marinette. I didn't think you would hand over your miraculous to that monster out there. We are part of her, we can se what she's done in the small window that she's possessed our body. We can't afford to let that happen."

"You're right… Ladybug, thank you. For making me feel wanted, needed. For giving me a purpose, I will be eternally grateful."

"I'm just doing my job, Mari. Now go." She said softly. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"

Red light flooded the darkness, creating a pathway. Regretfully, Marinette leapt into a sprint and bolted down it, tears flying left right and centre. She had one job left to do. One last supernatural intervention before she went back to how she was before. A normal girl, with a normal life. But she had lost a secret, that no one will ever know.


	5. Chapter 5

Adrien could feel the leather of his suit against his aching skin. The chains had bruised him severely and he didn't feel in any position to move.

"Chat Noir? Chat Noir?"

He heard a familiar voice. One he had heard since he was a child. Chloe?

His eyes slid slowly open to reveal not Chloe, but in fact a blonde girl in a black and yellow striped leotard, wearing a mask no dissimilar to that of him and ladybug.

"Hey, Alya, he's awake. Come over here."

He saw a girl approach. Vulpina? But she was defeated. Wait no… It was indeed Alya, dressed as a superhero… Why was that?

"Chat! Your awake! How do you feel? How long till you'll be able to fight?" Asked the fox girl.

"What's going on here? Have you found Ladybug?" He asked.

Both girls looked solemnly at the ground. They had to tell him.

"Adrien," said the bee girl, "Ladybug is actually… Is actually Marinette…"

He stopped. His mind stopped. His eyes stopped mid-blink, only to fly open in shock a split second later. His heart almost, almost stopped.

"How do you? How do you know that… How do you know that I'm Adrien?" He asked, desperate for an answer.

"Master Fu told us," Alya interjected, "when he gave us our miraculous. I'm Alya and this is Chloe. We've come to help you defeat her. My poor Mari…"

Alya began to cry, if only slightly.

"Don't cry Alya. She's changed. She's not who she used to be. I think we were all wrong about her, even before she was akumatised, she yelled at me and insulted me. That's not the Mari we know. Something happened to her. So we can't hold back when we fight her, for the old Mari's sake. But, that just doesn't sit right. She told me she liked me, but then I told her I liked Ladybug and she lashed out at me. But doesn't that mean I liked her? That should make her happy."

Alya glared at him.

"You really don't understand Mari at all, do you! She doesn't see Ladybug as herself, and from her perspective, not knowing you're Chat Noir, you've only seen Ladybug on my blog, where I sing her praises. It's like you're turning her down for a celebrity crush! Tell me, Adrien. Which is the real you, Adrien or Chat Noir!?"

He stopped to think.

"Chat Noir."

"Imagine confessing to Ladybug as Chat, someone who she spends time with, but she tells you she likes some fashion model that from what you know, she's only seen on an advert once or twice! Don't try and tell me that that wouldn't sting! Honestly…"

It was obvious that Alya was on the verge of a breakdown. But so was Chat.

"No… That would sting. That would hurt like hell… I'm sorry Marinette. I'm so sorry…"

"Well, that's enough of that for now." Chloe interrupted, stubbornly.

After her discussion with Master Fu and Adrien's obvious feelings for Ladybug, she decided to take a passive approach. She would deal with her own feelings later.

"Are you ready to go save Maritrash?"


	6. Chapter 6

This was the first time they'd ever really had to look for an akuma. They normally handed themselves over on a silver platter, spouting rubbish about whatever their problem and a cause for anger was. No, not this one. They checked the sewers, the rooftops, Mari's house, the streets, it seemed like she'd just disappeared. It was obvious she was draining their energy and time before they would be needed again in their civilian lives. Damn, this was a smart one.

The search drew on, and just as they were about to call it a day, they ran in to her. Unfortunately.

In an instant, the city was engulfed by chains, just as Chat was earlier but on a much larger scale. Great, shimmering chains, some as thick as tree trunks, some as thin as a shoelace.

"Oh my…" Alya whispered, rendered speechless.

"We have to find the source. Let's go," Adrien said coldly, "and catch ourselves a pesky bug."

The three followed against the grain of the chains until they saw her, sitting halfway up the Eiffel Tower, in Chat's favourite spot.

"Oh! Chaton!" She cried, teasingly. "I see. Made some new friends, have you? I guess you don't need me anymore…"

Whilst her tone was mocking, there was a gentle flash of genuine sadness in her eyes.

"And I'm also guessing Master Fu told you everything, right? About how Marinette and Ladybug share the same body? Shame he had to spoil my fun. Anyways, you're here for a fight, no? I'll give you a fight. Unlike any fight you've ever fought. One shrimpy sidekick and two newbies. Laaaaame." Mari said, insulting them in a sing song voice.

"See what I mean?" Adrien asked. "No way is this the Marinette we know."

The group braced themselves to fight her, Chloe extending her stinger spear to it largest size, Chat clutching his baton. Alya was the first to leap. Not unlike Naruto's shadow clones, she used her illusion powers to create five copies of herself. They pounced from all angles, but Mari and her chains were quick enough to grab and restrain all of them, the fakes dissolving into the same orange smoke from before, the real one writhing in her chains.

Chloe leapt up, spear in hand, and batted away all the chains Mari fired at her. She had almost reached Alya too, but they'd forgotten one tiny detail. Her power was not limited to that of an akuma. She was wearing a miraculous.

Just as Chloe's outstretched hand reached Alya, her foot was caught by none other than Ladybug's yoyo. Unlike the chains, she couldn't hear it approach her.

"Golden Wings!"

A golden light encased the bee and when it had dispersed, Chloe was revealed to be adorned with great insect wings emitting a sparkling gold aura. She placed her hand over her ankle and the yoyo just slipped off.

"Oh? That's a neat trick you've got there… Producing honey with supernatural properties and abilities, an exaggeration of the properties regular honey has… Shame I don't like honey."

Thousands of thin, spider web like chains sprung from the ground at Marinette's command. They were too small to dodge and too many to break free from. She again attempted her honey slip method, but to no avail.

"Let's see you slip out of this one… Wait… Where's Chat No-"

A gloved hand clamped over her mouth and dragged her backwards, pinning her against a metal bar of the tower. Angry green eyes stared her in the face.

"Mari. Go back. Go back to normal! I don't know what happened to you, but your not the Marinette I know… Please! Come back to us!"

—

*in Mari's head again*

Marinette's POV

How long? How long have I been running? The pathway seems to go on for ever, in the straightest line in existence. And I've noticed the walls that defend me from the black smoke have gotten slimmer and are beginning to close in. I'm running out of time. But, this place is indefinite. Nothing will happen if I keep on like this, something needs to change, or I'll be stuck in this indefinite loop forever!

That's it.

I was so foolish.

Something needs to change, or we'll be stuck like this forever!

Concentrate. Focus. Focus your mind. Seize control. I can do this-

"Oh, hey Mari. You called?"

Looking up, I see myself. It's me. It looks exactly like me. Aside from the dark and sadistic smile adorning my face. Is this the one controlling my body?

"If you are who I think you are, yes, I called." I say boldly, wondering where the sudden boost of confidence came from.

"Seriously tho, Mari, I was never a fan of that outfit… That's why the body isn't wearing it, by the way." She states, matter of factly.

What outfit? I'm just wearing my normal one. But I'm not. I look down to see the red and black spots I am wearing.

'That's right, Marinette.'

I can hear Tikki's voice, in unison with my own, or that of Ladybugs.

'You are Ladybug. And deep down, you always will be. Okay? Never forget that.'

And they're right. I am Ladybug. You can have a Ladybug who isn't Marinette, but you can't have a Marinette who isn't Ladybug. And Ladybug doesn't give in.

I reach for my yoyo and look up at the other me. But I can barely see her.

"No! No! What have you done?! I'm disappearing! Help, Mari please!"

The fading girl before me starts twisting and screaming in pain as she fades into nothingness. Was it because of Ladybug and Tikki? No. It was because of me. I was stronger. My resolve was stronger. I was more fit to play the role of dominant.

—

*irl*

"Please, Mari! Come back to us!"

Chat was in tears, begging, pleading. But she kept flailing in resistance.

"Mari… I'm sorry… I love you!"

…

She stopped dead still. Then, she started screaming.

It was the most horrible scream Adrien had ever heard. He leapt away from her, terrified to touch her, to cause her anymore pain.

—

*in mari's head*

Huh? She's gone… Why is the black mist still threatening me? Is it because the akuma is still there?

Ladybug's protective wall was flickering, flickering, flickering, gone.

Darkness and dread begins to fill my lungs as I cough, splutter, gasp for air.

'It's the akuma. The miraculous act as a lid, protecting you from akumas. However, it also means the akuma can't leave. Chat is with you in the outside world. Get him to remove your earrings, then destroy the akumatised object. You don't have long. If you don't work fast, the only thing left in your body will be the akuma, and on the destruction of the akumatised object, your body will die. Goodbye, Marinette! Good luck!'

Tikki's little voice in her head was the sheer sound of pain and parting.

"Goodbye, Tikki." I whisper.

I can feel myself returning to my body.

—

The previously screaming girl collapsed in a heap on the floor, choking on air.

Chat ran over to her.

"Mari? Marinette? Are you okay?"

"M-My earrings… Take off my e-earri-"

The suffering girl curled up in pain, exposing a purple patch of skin that was growing in size.

"Earrings, right, on it."

He fumbled around with her earrings, but they were fastened stiff.

"Forgive me…" Adrien muttered, and with a horrific tear, he yanked both of her earlobes right off, forming a bloody mess that would never truly heal. She was suffering so much already that she didn't seem to notice.

"Now what? Mari, what do I do next?"

"T-The ak-kumatised ite-em."

He was losing her and he knew it.

Damn! He didn't even know what the item was.

He frantically searched her, destroying everything he could find in an attempt do save her.

Her hair ribbons, her necklace, her mask, all lay broken on the floor. Time was running out.

His attention was caught by a chain around her wrist, the same chains she used as her weapons. The only problem was, he couldn't destroy it. He was left with no choice.

"Cataclysm!" He yelled at the top of his voice, bracing himself for the pain he was about to inflict upon himself.

As his hand came down to crush the bracelet, a horrible, disgusting sensation pumped around his body. He knew it would hurt, but he wasn't expecting what happened next. The pain just stopped. It ended. In fact, he felt comfortable, soft, gentle.

'I'm sorry it had to end like this, kid, but absorbing that akuma would have killed you, and you're so young in comparison to me,' he heard Plagg's voice in his head, 'you were the best Cat Noir for a long time. The only one ever that agreed to supply me with cheese all the time. So for that, I thank you.'

Chat looked down in horror as he saw all of the akuma's negative energy flow into his ring.

"Plagg, god please no, no, PLAGG!"

A soothing green light emerged from his ring. And for the last time, he heard Plagg's voice utter, 'Miraculous Chat Noir'. The chains disappeared and Chloe and Alya were released, Marinette's coughing ceased and with a small, painful click, a large crack appeared in his ring. On a bare hand. He was just Adrien. Plain, old, Adrien.


	7. Chapter 7

Silent tears streamed down Adrien's model face. The landed gently upon Mari's unconscious, colourless cheeks. Was she even breathing? He didn't know, anymore.

Was his Lady the only thing left for him to live for? I mean, his father didn't care, his friends would get over him, Plagg was gone. Plagg! Why did you have to leave me? Why did you have to die?

Mari stirred softly beneath him.

"Adrien? Adrien, are you crying?! I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened while she was in my body but I'm back now, and you're safe. She's gone… Wait. If it was you who found me here, then you must know that I'm… And where is Chat? I have no recollection of anything I did to you but- No, that's a lie. I can remember everything, even if it wasn't under my control. I'm sorry for what I said about Ladybug-"

"Yes, I know you're Ladybug. And I am Chat Noir. "

…

"Really? I- I'm so sorry… About what I said. You were perfectly justified to love Ladybug, and I was perfectly justified to love Adrien. It just got a bit warped, ya know?"

She leant over and hugged him.

"Thank you Kitty. For saving me. I don't know how I can repay you, but I'll do anything I can to make it up to you. Just promise me you'll never use Cataclysm on an akuma agai-"

"That won't happen. Plagg… Plagg is"

Adrien broke down. He started sobbing, shaking Marinette as his only comfort.

"Shhhh, Kitty. I can never be Ladybug again either. So we're in this together."

She arched her head down and kissed his forehead. I still love you, even if you only love half of me. I'll make you fall in love with Marinette, if you'll let me fall in love with Chat Noir. I mean, I'm pretty sure I already have, but I want to see more of him."

"I'm pretty sure I've already fallen in love with Marinette. You fought your way back to the surface, which is more than most people can do. Oh, one more thing, am I still allowed to make cat puns?"

But he didn't get an answer. She just kissed him.


End file.
